The Past is a Luxury We Cannot Afford
by Monet00
Summary: Everything seems perfect with the Jonas-Manning family. That is until someone from Carly's past comes back, not to haunt her, but for a second chance. What will happen next? How will the news of the reappearance shock the town?
1. Chapter 1

Melanie and her parents are on good terms. Daniel is living with Jennifer, and Carly has returned to work full time after her time in rehab. Her neighbor calls her one Wednesday afternoon to inform her that a pipe burst in the building and the apartments on her floor have been flooded. Melanie receives a call when walking into the hospital lobby area.

"Hello, this is Melanie," she responds.

"Hey this is Andrew from across the hall…" her neighbor tries to say but is cut off.

"Listen Andrew, I'm really busy, can this wait until later," Melanie deflects. In fact she was bored to death after she finished making rounds, she's just really uncomfortable talking to this neighbor in particular. She couldn't remember when she gave him her number, but she regrets it now.

"This is an emergency, there was a pip burst in the building, and our floor is flooded. They evacuated us. The landlord said that this may take a few weeks to fix," he rushes before she can hang up.

"WHAT!" Melanie yells and feels a headache coming on. "Okay I'll be right there, thank you.' She finishes while running her hand through her hair. Meanwhile Carly and Daniel walked into the lobby and saw their daughter in distress, immediately taking concern.

"Melanie what happened? Are you alright?" Carly and Daniel asked at the same time.

"No! My stupid apartment is flooded after a pipe burst, and it won't be fixed for weeks. I have to go clear some stuff out and find a place to crash. Dad, can I stay with you?" she asked with those puppy eyes.

"Sorry sweetie, but I live with Jennifer in the Horton Home," he said sympathetically.

"Oh right," Melanie replies deflated. "Mom, I know you're just getting back to work and everything, but would it be alright if I stayed with you?"

"I would love for you to stay with me, but I stay in a one bedroom apartment," Carly reasons.

"Oh that's fine, it can be like a sleepover, if you're okay with sleeping in the same bed with your 20 something old daughter, if you're in to that type of thing," Melanie rambled.

"Then it's settled, you're moving in with me for a few weeks," Carly said with glee in her voice.

"Yay I'm not homeless," Melanie cheered. "My shift ends around 6, but I'll be to the apartment around 10 if that's not too late".

"Come on Melanie, you're an adult, I'm not babysitting you. Here's a key," Carly chuckles with Daniel and hands over a key that's been long overdue. "That's for you to keep. I know your father gave you a key to his apartment, and you are welcome to mine anytime sweetie".

"Thanks mom," Melanie replies with a tears spilling from her eyelids.

**11 pm at Carly's apartment**

Carly is in bed reading Wuthering Heights for the fifth time and waiting for Melanie to come. At that thought, she heard a key enter the lock and she tried hard to contain her excitement.

"Hey mom, what are you doing up so late?" Melanie asked with a glow on her face.

"Waiting for my baby to get home, and re-reading my favorite book," Carly answers while putting the book in her nightstand.

"Sorry I took so long, I ran into someone at the pub and we talked longer than I thought," she explains

"No need to apologize for sweetheart, I'm just thinking of what it would've been like to know you as a teenager," Carly says while staring into space

"Trust me, you dodged a bullet. I was a party girl with a glamorous lifestyle who had no intentions of stopping," Melanie laughed while taking off her coat. "I'm going to go change in the bathroom, I'll be right out."

10 minutes later Melanie emerges in a black tank top and black shorts.

"So are you tired?" Carly asked.

"Not really, I don't fall asleep until late, I just wanted to be back early in case you were tired from surgeries today," Melanie replied.

"Hmm seems like you get something else from me, I'm a total nighthawk, I can't sleep until 1 or 2 am," Carly joked.

"That's definitely me! I have a surprise for you though," Melanie said as she stood from the bed and walked over to the bag she bough into the apartment. "I bought ice cream for us," Melanie smiled and bought them over with spoons.

"You know this is coming a pass time for us to talk over ice cream," Carly observed.

"Yes, just like with dad it's him stealing my dessert at the pub," Melanie.

"Ahh yes the dessert he says no to but takes about 90% of yours, he's the same as when I met him," Carly says

"What was dad like when you met him?" Melanie asks shyly

"Well he was kind and gentle, very down to earth. He was a brilliant doctor, still is, and he was so different from Lawrence which is why we slept together." Carly said remembering the first time she met Daniel

"How come you never talk about Lawrence?" Melanie wonders out loud.

"It's not much to talk about," Carly replies grimly.

"It has to be if you were married for 16 years, how did you guys meet?" Melanie questions.

"Well we met at boarding school, he was my boyfriend," Carly said as she went to throw out the ice cream carton. "That's also where I met Jennifer, she was my best friend, and I met Bo there as well."

"Continue!" Melanie said intrigued.

"Bo broke up a fight between Lawrence and I, big surprise there, but when I came to town, he didn't remember me."

"How did you get the idea to move to Salem?" Melanie inquired.

"I got the idea from Adrienne and Justin who I ran into while they were vacationing."

"So what happened once you got to town?" she asked.

"I ran into Bo and Jennifer. Bo and me didn't get along for a long time, but we started to have feelings for one another when I took care of his son Shawn Douglass. After a while in town, I discovered that my brother was kidnapped by my ex Lawrence." Melanie gasped.

"How could you marry him after be kidnapped your brother?" she asked disgustedly.

"I'm getting to that, and Lawrence wasn't all bad. I don't want you to think the worst of him. When we were together it was magical, like we were made for each other, but he could also be very cruel and manipulative," Carly reasoned.

"And abusive" Melanie added

"Yes and abusive, but he had his reasons," Carly said. "Anyways, Lawrence wanted the Von Leuschner fortune and for me to hand over Bo in exchange for my brother's freedom."

"Von what?" Melanie asked, last time she checked, her parents were just doctors.

"My birth name is Katerina Von Leuschner, a very powerful European family. I was on the run and changed my name to Carly Manning. Lawrence knew I was the heiress and would receive my inheritance soon, so he made a deal. I learned that Jennifer assumed my identity as Katerina and tried to marry Lawrence and he raped her once he found out the truth. I was so disgusted with his actions and couldn't stand the thought of him especially when he moved to Salem."

"Mom, he sounds horrible!" Melanie's voice rose.

"I know, I'm not making excuses for him. When he wanted something he would always get it no matter the costs. After a while when me and Bo were together, I began to have nightmares about the child I'd lost, your brother Nikki."

"How come you didn't get him until he was 12?"

"I found out I was pregnant with my boyfriend's baby, I thought his name was James, but it turned out to be Lawrence. I turned to Vivian for help, and after I gave birth, she and the doctor told me that the baby would die soon for having water on his brain. I could not bear to see my child in that state so I trusted Vivian to confirm his time of death. I'd confided in Bo and we flew to France where I gave birth, and the doctor admitted that my baby was sold on the black market. I told Vivian what happened and she seemed just as surprised as I was. Lawrence's girlfriend to him that Bo and I took trip to France and he went there to find answers for him. I told Lawrence that he wasn't the father of my child, but eventually relented. Once Lawrence found out that Nikki was our son, he went on a rampage and caused Vivian to have a heart attack. He let me know what was going and we decided that it was best if Lawrence broke the news to him that he was his father and would wait to tell him that I'm his mother. The more I talked to Nikki, the more we bonded and I loved him so much," Carly cried.

"What happened mom?" Melanie said with tears forming.

"I was about to wed Bo when Lawrence came bursting in with news that Vivian was trying to flee town with Nikki, but Bo caught them. Vivian was always jealous of our mother son bond and sought to destroy me. When she couldn't frame me for killing her, she tried to frame me for killing patients. She was on medication that made her the craziest woman in Salem. When she tried to kill Caroline Brady, I found her and ended up injecting myself with the cleaning fluid and went into a coma. She put more "herbs" into my IV, which made it appear as if I'd died. She locked me in a coffin and buried me. Once released from the hospital and with the drugs wearing off, she told Lawrence of what she'd done and he dug me up. When I woke up, I had no memories of the life I'd been living in Salem, and Lawrence was now James, my first love. Lawrence tried running away with me but when I saw Nikki at the airport, all my memories came flooding back. Vivian was sent to a mental hospital, and I realized why Lawrence was the way he was. My love for him only grew and we decided to leave town with Nikki as a family. I took back my old life and embraced my Von Leuschner family, and we lived happily ever after." Carly concluded.

"So what changed?" Melanie asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you cheat on him if you loved him?"

"We were going through a rough patch, always fighting and when I met Daniel, he was so different. He was everything that Lawrence was when I met him and I just wanted that one piece of him that I'd loved and that's how you were created."

"So how did Lawrence find out that you weren't carrying his child?"

"Lawrence found out when he discovered that he was sterile, and from that point it was just a living hell. He drank a lot, he hit me and called me every name in the book, he told me he wasn't going to raise another man's baby, and that I was his property, so I wouldn't carry one either. I reasoned with him to allow me to give birth because you were innocent and he relented. Every time he would beat me, he would aim for my stomach but I would cower in a corner and wrap my arms around you. When I gave birth to you, he wanted to kill you, I told him I'd do anything he asked, and he said to save your life, I had to give you away. It was a private adoption and only he knew the person who adopted you, I was forbidden to see any of that information."

"Why didn't you just tell Daniel?" Melanie asked.

"Because I was terrified. Lawrence was a drunk and a powerful one at that. When he would beat me, he would ask who the father was and the beating would get worse when I didn't answer. He would've sent people after Daniel if he found out that information. He was so possessive and he would rather die than to know his wife slept with someone else."

"Why did you kill him, why not leave?"

"Because he would've found me or taken Nikki away. He's a man of many resources and I was terrified of him. He wasn't the same after I'd cheated on him and after he recovered from his illness. He threatened to kill you because he was the only one with information about you, not even Vivian knew. I believed him when he said he would and I snapped. I grabbed the closest weapon to me." Carly said. "He kept my passport and documentation away from me, but I managed to find it and came home."

"Wow, I…I really don't know what to say. You're so strong," Melanie cried and Carly wrapped her in her arms. "Do you still love him?"

"Of course sweetie, he may have been terrible towards the end, but he was great before and I'll always love him. I really do wish we could've worked things out a different way, but this is my bed and I have to lie in it."

"I don't understand…" Melanie started.

"You're not suppose to understand, and I'm glad you don't. He was the love of my life. Yes I did love Bo, but he loves damsels in distress and the reason we tried is because he was separated and we never got to finish our love story. Daniel was a great man, but I introduced him to the love of his life, while I was on the outs with mine. Okay baby it's time to get some sleep."

"Okay, good night mommy," Melanie replied tiredly while Carly pulled the covers over them.

They slept peacefully for most of the night until Carly started tossing and turning and breaking into a sweat. Melanie being a light sleeper felt the bed moving and awoke groggily to her mother panting.

"Mom wake up," Melanie whispered but that did nothing for Carly. Melanie put her hand on Carly's arm to shake her but pulled it back as if her hand was on fire. Carly's skin felt as if it was on fire and her hair was wet from the sweat.

"Lawrence…stop...I'm" Carly said in her sleep.

"Mom wake up," Melanie said louder, but Carly wouldn't budge instead she seemed as if she were having a panic attack with shallow breaths making its way past his partially opened lips. Melanie started shaking Carly until she rose with a gasp of air that felt like heaven to her lungs. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah sweetie I'm fine, just go back to sleep," Carly said.

"No you're not okay," Melanie argued.

"It's 4:00 am, go back to sleep and we can talk in the morning," Carly reasoned and Melanie resumed her position. That seemed to do the trick and Carly tucked Melanie back into bed.

"Where are you going?" Melanie asks.

"Shh go to sleep baby," Carly said.


	2. Change

Carly went to take a shower to rid her of the thoughts. The dream was vivid, but could never be true. She killed her one true love and now she would never experience that again and that thought caused her to sink to the ground and cry. She didn't know how long she'd been in there but the water was ice cold. When she emerged from the bathroom she got dressed and left to go get some breakfast for Melanie. She returned around 5:20 am and put it on the table for when she woke and left for the hospital. On her way there she stopped by the docks to take in the sight. It always calmed her and made her worries seem so small. She pictured the life she would've had if Lawrence was accepting of Melanie and before he got sick. Dinners with the four of them, Melanie visiting her Daniel in the summers, taking Melanie shopping, but that was too much to ask for. She heard footsteps coming down the steps and decided to take that as her queue to leave. Carly began to head towards the hospital not noticing the eyes that were watching her. She arrived at the hospital at 7 am even though her shift didn't start until 9 am, so she went to her office. Later on that day she ran into Daniel and Melanie in the lobby no matter how much she wanted to avoid them.

"Hey mom," Melanie said which stopped Daniel from talking since his back was to Carly.

"Hey baby, afternoon Daniel," she replies awkwardly as if she knew they were discussing her.

"How's your day going?" Daniel asks.

"Going okay, getting ready for surgery in an hour, I have to go read, I'll see you guys later."

"That was weird right?" Melanie asked.

"Yeah, but you know your mom, she's always focused," Daniel covered.

"Yeah that's true," Melanie said although she didn't tell him about her mother's nightmare.

"What time does your shift end?" Daniel asks.

"At 8, why?"

"Want to go to the pub for dinner?"

"Yeah that would be great, do you know what time mom gets off?" she asks.

"No." he says and walks off to do paperwork.

Around 5 Melanie goes into her mother's office, but comes face to face with a man.

"Hello, can I help you?" she asks.

"No, just waiting for Katerina," he says.

"Who are you?" Melanie asks a bit rudely.

"None of you concern," he replies.

"Actually it is since she's my mother," she replies with an edge.

"Oh right, the one she's recently reconnected with," he says creepily. "I'll just go and see Katerina another time." The man brushes past her and Melanie looks confused in the office. Minutes later Carly comes behind her.

"Hey sweetie what are you doing here?"

"I was coming to see what time your shift was over but a man was in here," Melanie says.

"In here doing what?" Carly asks.

"Waiting for you".

"Do you know who he was and where he went?" Carly asked while dropping charts onto her desk.

"No he refused to tell me, he just said he was looking for Katerina," Melanie states and Carly the office phone onto the desk and it looks as if she's seen a ghost. "What is it mom?"

"Only Lawrence called me Katerina," she said with new tears coming to life. "What did he look like?"

"Dark hair, brown eyes, around 6 feet, deep voice," Melanie states.

"No it can't be," Carly gasps for air.

"What can't be mom?"

"Nothing sweetie, I have to go," Carly says and rushes off to the docks.

At the docks she tries to clear her mind. It was impossible and reckless to think such things. She wish badly that he would come back somehow, come on it's Salem, the town where people practically rise from the dead, but unfortunately, his death was set in stone. Their love stood the tests of time, went through ups and downs and it was gone in less than a minute. She wished she had the courage to leave instead of killing him, but this was a hard bed and she was getting neck pains from lying in it. She honestly didn't know if she could ever forgive him for all the things he put her through, or if he could ever forgive her for stabbing him, but it was no point in thinking what ifs, if the man was dead. Her mind began to wander about the man who came to look for her. She needed to find out who it was and hoped that they came back. Carly couldn't see the person in the shadows watch her as all the emotions played across her face. When she came to, the sun and water started to meet, and realized she'd walked out on her shift. She began to walk towards the Pub for dinner. Once there she came in the sight of her daughter and Daniel.

"What's wrong with mom?" Melanie asked her father.

"What do you mean?" He says while eating his fries and checking his phone.

"She looks so lost, look dad," Melanie said grabbing his attention to see Carly walking in a zombie like state. He got up and walked towards her.

"Carly are you okay?" Daniel asked while checking her pupils.

"Yeah I'm fine," she whispered before going weak in the knees and falling into his arms.

"Whoa, I'm taking you to the hospital," Daniel said not expecting much of a debate.

"Mom!" Melanie all but yelled.

"No, no hospital," she said before slipping into unconsciousness.

"Mom wake up," Melanie said in a panic. She and Daniel ran towards his car with Carly in his arms to go towards the hospital. Once they're in the main lobby.

"We need a gurney. Female, 45 fainted and is unresponsive," Daniel yelled orders. "We need to set up an IV drip and take blood".

A few hours passed and Carly was still unconscious. Melanie was parked beside her while Daniel went to solve the mystery of Carly fainting. He walked through the door with a sad look on his face that Melanie dreaded to see.

"Dad what's wrong with mom?" she asks worriedly.

"I have to take her to get an MRI," he says

"MRI? Why, what do you think she has?" she asks.

"I don't know just yet. I want to confirm what it is before I worry you," he reasons.

"It's too late for that dad," she says with a final tone that signifies that the conversation is over. They are distracted by the sound of the flat line signaling coming from Carly's machine. "No mom, you can't leave me".

"Step back Melanie," he says in a fatherly tone and goes to resuscitate Carly with CPR, but it doesn't work after a minute and other nurses surround him waiting for orders. "Come on Carly, stay with me. I need a defibrillator charged at 250 stat!" He warms the tongues up and places one in between her chest and the other by her ribs. It causes her body to rise a few inches off the bed, but the sound of the flat line continues. "Give me 300". He tries again and nothing happens.

"Mommy, I need you, please come back to us," Melanie yells as tears pour onto the floor. "Please dad you have to save her".

"Give her a shot of atropine!" he says and sighs when it doesn't work. Carly's been out for three minutes and nothing's working. "Give me 350"

"But sir, it's not safe" a nurse says.

"She's the mother of my child so give me 350". Daniel shocks Carly one more time and after ten seconds a heart beat comes and Melanie breaths out a heavy breath.

"Oh my God Mom, please don't do that again," she says with relief while Daniel is checking for air pupil reactions and breathing.

"Her pupils are reacting properly, but she's not breathing on her own, she'll need a ventilator.

"What does that mean?"

"Melanie, your mom is on life support," he says with a heavy heart.


	3. Redemption

"Melanie, your mom is on life support," those words were like nails to a chalkboard in Melanie's ears. Her day had gone from awkward to the worst day. She wished she never woke up and continued to sleep the day away. How could her mom go from fine to life support in a matter of hours? It probably had something to do with her mom running off Melanie formulated.

"Dad, what if it has something to do with the docks?" she says out loud.

"What do you mean?" he asks curiously.

"This weird man came looking for her, and she ran out like a bat from hell, I don't know where she went, but the next time I saw her was at the Pub," she confessed.

"What man? What did he look like?" Daniel asked.

"Tall, dark hair, brown eyes, he called her Katerina. I told mom what he said and she said only Lawrence called her that. That can't be right?" she asked her dad as if he would know.

"I don't know sweetie, but we'll find out. I need to take your mom to get that MRI," he says.

"Do you know what could possibly be wrong?" she asked.

"I have a few ideas that I will tell you once it is more definitive or confirmed," he said vaguely. "I have to go make rounds while the nurses get her prepped". With that Daniel hugged Melanie and exited the room. Melanie sobbed in a chair while looking at her mother. She didn't even notice the nurses come to take her away. She just sat there for what felt like hours as the tears rushed from her face. By the time she came back to reality, Carly was being carted in on a gurney and placed back onto the hospital bed.

"Do you know what's wrong with my mom?" she asked.

"The doctor will be with you in a minute ma'am," the nurse replies grimly giving Melanie chills. The nurse seemed new to the hospital so Melanie forgave her for not spilling any information since they didn't know each other. Melanie continued to stare at her mother, too afraid to talk. Staring was better because the sound of her voice cracking would confirm her worst nightmare, her mother on the brink of death. So many things she'd yet to say, all the things they never got a chance to do. She regretted holding a grudge against her mother for so long, and although she said she forgave her mom for giving her away, she didn't truly feel in her heart until now that she'd be able to move past it. She guessed what they said was true, you don't know what you have until it's gone. Hopefully she wasn't too late in forming a stronger relationship with her mom. Her inner monologue was cut by Daniel's presence.

"I have news Melanie," he said flatly.

"Is it good or bad dad," Melanie cried.

"We found out what's wrong," he said.

"Good, that's really good, now what can we do to help wake her up?" she said hopeful.

"It's not that simple Mel," he reason and it broke his heart to watch his daughter's heart break.

"What do you mean dad, can 't you save her?" she said defensively.

"Your mom had a heart arrhythmia which caused her to lose oxygen in her brain. Did your mom tell you about the time when Vivian buried her alive?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes! But what does that have to do with this?" she said frustrated.

"She suffered amnesia, and brain damage. Her heart arrhythmia and losing oxygen in the brain is causing more brain damage, the longer she stays in a coma, the harder the recovery," he said trying to calm her down.

"So why can't you wake her up?" she asked.

"It's up to Carly to come back to us. There's nothing we can do except get her heart working properly again," he said.

"Could what happened in the office and her running off caused a heart arrhythmia?" she asked more clear-headed.

"It could've been a factor, but she would've had to have had a heart attack or irregular heartbeats prior to this," he explains.

"What do her medical records say?" she asks.

"You know I can't tell you that Mel, but nothing in here indicated heart problems," he says.

"Do you know when she'll wake up?" she asks.

"No, I don't know. Her brain shows partial damage to her motor skills, but we won't know what effect that will have. Plus the longer she stays in this state, the worse her condition will be," he says truthfully.

"What if she never wakes up," Melanie sobs assuming the worst.

"Don't say that sweetie, be positive that your mom will pull through. Who do you think you get your strong will from? Trust me she's a fighter," he says confidently.

"You're her next of kin since we can't get in contact with Nicky, I need you to sign some papers," he says and pulls her away and out the room. They eventually go to his office to give them a chance to be in private. Meanwhile in Carly's room, the man from earlier enters.

"Oh no, my sweet Katerina, it wasn't suppose to be this way," he chokes. "I was going to come here for revenge, and I never really realized what it would be like without you in my life, and now that I don't have a choice, I don't want you to go. Please be strong for me, for your daughter, Nicky. You have a family waiting for you. I want that thirteenth chance we never got to have," he cries only to be interrupted by the door closing.

"Who in the hell do you think you are?" Melanie all but screams.

"That is of no importance to you," he says briskly collecting his thoughts.

"The hell it isn't. This is your entire fault. I told my mom about you and she bolted, next time I see her and she's on life support," she reasons.

"I did no such thing to your mother," he says and goes to move but is stopped by Melanie. "Move out of my way".

"Not until you tell me who you are, unless you want me to call the cops, who I know very well".

"I know them well too, but if you must know, I'm Lawrence, Carly's husband," he says strongly placing his belongings back around the room making his stance that he wasn't leaving.

"B.. but…but that's…" Melanie stutters.

"But that's impossible?" he finishes for her.

"Ye…yes…yeah," she says going down octaves.

"Wrong," he says in a finalizing tone leaving no room for discussion. The coldness in his tone makes a lasting impression on Melanie and she sympathizes with her mom for dealing with that tone for over a decade.

"I see why mom tried to kill you, my problem is why did it take her so damn long," she yells. "Here you are strolling in like you own the place and putting your foot down, you're nothing but a bully and a wife beater".

"I've made mistakes, but your mother is no saint either," he says with venom.

"No one claims that she is and I can attest that I know first hand, but she didn't deserve the kind of love you came with, an iron fist," she said.

"You're right," he says softening his voice. "You're mother deserved so much more. She was so beautiful and so full of life and my evil ways turned her into a callous woman. Our love wasn't only one sided though and I couldn't resist the love she showed me since we were teenagers. Our families had arranged a marriage between the two of us, can you believe that, an arranged marriage that turn into soul mates". The way in which he talked of her mother made Melanie's heart ache. She was torn between wanting to strangle him for all the things he's done to her and her mother, but also wanting to hug him for the pain he must be in. "Do they know what's wrong with her?"

"Yeah, she had a heart arrhythmia that caused oxygen to stop flowing to the brain. Brain damage that she suffered from being buried alive by your beloved aunt coupled with the brain damage from this caused her to slip into a coma. She's not breathing on her own, she's on life support".

"Well thanks for your honesty and not sugarcoating things," he says with a smile. "You remind me so much of your mother when she was your age".

"What was she like?" she asked curiously.

"Stubborn, strong willed, annoyingly persistent, fiercely passionate, full of love and joy despite her upbringing. She was really a beautiful person inside and out".

"Why do you keep say 'was' as if she's dead?" Melanie asks.

"Because we both changed from the people we once were," he says sadly. "After my accident, I was so blinded by rage I couldn't see straight, she became the brunt of my anger and everything she did was under a microscope. She became dormant, she used to be a spitfire and I turned her into a wallflower. It was heartbreaking to know that I broke the woman who used to make me stutter in boarding school".

"Why did you force her to give me away?" she asks with tears in her eyes.

"Because I couldn't deal with the fact that the woman I devoted my life to and gave my everything to, created a baby with another man. I was furious and nothing could stop my rage, not even my own self. If I could go back in time, there would be so many things I'd do different, starting with how I dealt with that situation. I was so afraid that if she saw you everyday she'd be reminded of her affair and how it was the happiest she'd been in years. I was afraid to lose her, so I made her give away the only thing that was separating us, or so I thought".

"Did you know what Trent was doing to me?" she asked wanting an honest answer.

"No, I hadn't checked up on you in a while, I found out too late, you were already off to boarding school. I'm sorry that I gave you away to such a despicable man; nothing can ever erase the damage I've done to you. I only hope that with time you can forgive me".

"Well you're in luck, because I made a deal with God that if he bring my mother back to me, I'd be different, more forgiving, less self centered," she rambled and Lawrence smiled. "What's so funny?"

"You look just like her," he says and pulls out a picture of Carly and him while she was suffering from amnesia.

"She's beautiful, and you guys look so in love," Melanie says and it finally sinks in that her parents love for one another will ever compare to what Carly and Lawrence have. They're it for each other.

"She was suffering from amnesia and she thought I was the James from high school that she'd met and fell madly in love with, not the Lawrence who terrorized Salem and did unspeakable things. I loved the way she looked at me in those few months I had with her. It was like a second chance, she saw me, the goodness in my heart and it made me feel like a better man. It was the happiest time of my life despite the circumstances, because all we have now is a stained marriage. It's tainted and I don't think it can ever be repaired".

"So then why are you here?" she asks.

"Because in spite of our problems, I love your mother. I will do anything for her and I will be her every step of the way in whatever way she wants me. I just wished she'd wake up," he says and goes to grab Carly's hand and sits in a chair. "Sit down kiddo, I want to know more about you, if you'd let me".


	4. Opaque

And so Melanie let him. It was strange to her how she could be so open with a man she wanted to hate so badly. Two sides were resting on her shoulders, one that had hate stored for this man beyond comprehension, and the other guiding her heart to a forgiving place. The exchanged stories of their time with Carly, both past and present. Eventually they had tears in their eyes about the good things that came from loving and being loved by Carly. Melanie felt that by hearing about her mother's adventures and love over time for Lawrence, she was beginning to see another side. One whose love was unconditional for someone other than her children, and it made her happy that her mother was capable of such a thing decades, hell even years ago. Her mother was no saint by any means, but she owned being human. Her humanity was her strongest quality, because without that, there was no Carly, the doctor, the mother, the lover, the caretaker, the friend. Without her humanity, Carly didn't exist, she wore it like she wore her eyebrow raise when she knew Melanie wasn't forthcoming, or the lipstick she wore when a day started off right, or the smile she wore knowing that her life had turned out as best it could through all her trials and tribulations.

Carly lay there silently with the machine forcing her chest to rise and fall with a rhythm. Her unconscious state allowed her to have an out of body experience. Currently she was looking at herself on a ventilator and it scared her at how at peace she was with the site, as if she'd planned this a million times in her head, as if she was ready to move on from the world and all her suffering. Yes she had many reasons to live, such as her patients, her friends, her children, and hopefully one day her grandchildren. But that couldn't take away from her suffering, her inability to feel complete without her soul mate. The idea that Lawrence was on the other side waiting for her always had a calming affect on her, even when he was alive, her fantasies of their life on the other side together replaced his cold embrace and demeanor. A smile came to her face of the memory she had of her and Lawrence on the beach. The sweat glistening on their skin from the sun shinning, Lawrence's chest turning as red as a pepper because of his "sensitive" skin, more like he refused to wear sunscreen. Her fantasies had always been better than her reality and that caused heartache. She could hear the monitor spike the same time she felt the emotional pain in her chest. As she came out of her day dreaming, she began to listen to her surroundings since she was technically blind to what surrounded her in reality. She could hear distant voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying or whom they belonged to. She walked out of the room, finding it pointless to sit and look at her comatose body.

As soon as she walked out of the room, a weird event took place, she was back at boarding school looking at her and a young Lawrence or shall we say James, make out on her bed. Although it was forbidden here, since they were from powerful families, they couldn't really be kicked out. She watched on in shock as well as glee at the forgotten memory.

"Katerina, I love you," Lawrence whispered between kisses.

"I love you too James, with everything I have in me," she said and resumed her position.

"I want our first time to be special," he said honestly. "I don't want to be like the other guys who do it in the back of a car or in the bathroom".

"It will be special, because I will be with you and only you. I can't imagine a future without you," she said with a smile illuminating off her face. The happiness spread to his face and resumed to kiss her passionately. Carly was interrupted by someone coming beside her, her brother Frankie.

"What are you doing her Frankie, you're not dead right?" she asked worriedly.

"No of course not," he chuckled. "I'm just apart of your imagination, the only one you can trust to give you the truth".

"Which is?" she asked with an edge.

"That you can't give up on your life. Don't be a child and just wallow that you've lost your true love. It isn't your time to go and you know it. You have so much left to do and live for".

"Well when your soul mate is dead come back and give me a pep talk," she said and tried to walk away but her grabbed her arm.

"Gladly! But you're not running away from your problems anymore. What life would Melanie have without her mother, or Nicky without his? What life would your patients have without the best doctor? What life would Lawrence have if he couldn't hear you protest his every move, yet love him like no one else can through all his flaws?"

"Stop this nonsense! Lawrence is dead," she yelled.

"No he's not," Frankie says as he ushers her back into her hospital room.

"Why are we back here, it's empty besides my bed?" she reasons.

"You can't see because you're in a coma, but listen," he instructs and she does. The voices are becoming louder as she gives it her full attention. She gasps as she recognizes the male voice.

"No…it…it can't be," she says with tears flooding her eyes and hand rushing to her lips to quiet herself.

"Yes it is," he says.

"What are you doing, why would you play this cruel joke?" she demands angrily.

"It's not a joke Katerina, how could I make up that?" he asks and they both hear Melanie and Lawrence laugh at a memory shared by Lawrence. It's true, Carly would've never imagined hearing the two of them getting along and laughing after all that's happened.

"How is he alive?" she asks out loud.

"Why wouldn't he be? He's Lawrence," saying it as if it were a reasonable explanation.

"I stabbed him, I killed him," she says getting lightheaded and reaching for a seat. Who knew comatose patients could get lightheaded.

"Yes you stabbed him, but he survived, you never saw his body in a casket nor in the morgue, and if you did, he could've paid someone to help him fake his death," Frankie reasons. It made senese for Carly, the man who appeared in her office and the events leading up to her coma. She didn't want ot belive it, but she was faced with hard facts.

"So what are you here for?"

"To convince you not to give up and to fight for your life, you have so much to live for," he says and bends down to eye level with his sister. He caresses her cheek and leans to kiss her on her forehead before standing and exiting the door, leaving her to contemplate her fate.

Back in the hospital room, progress had been made between Lawrence and Melanie. Both of them, despite their initial animosity, had become fond of each other. Daniel who Lawrence knew he'd never like, but would have to learn to tolerate for Carly and Melanie's sake interrupted their tender moment.

"Do you have any news dad?" Melanie asked.

"Yes, we've detected that her heart beat is too slow and so we will treat it by implanting a pacemaker".

"What about her brain?" she asks hesitantly.

"We hope that the ventilator is helping her body to get much needed rest and pass the oxygen to her brain without having to do much work. All we can do is monitor brain activity from now and see if she comes back," he answers truthfully.

"How's her brain activity?" Lawrence asks and Daniel turns to him with a cold stare.

"She's showing 5% less brain activity than what she came in with which was 15% less than a normal comatose patient. Unfortunately if those numbers continue to drop, there will be no hope if she returns back," Daniel responds with a heavy heart as he notices Melanie out of the corner of her eye hold back a sob and return to her mother's beside.

"Mom! Mom please wake up. I can't lose you, I need you so much. I've just got you back," she cries repeatedly.


	5. Amnesia

A few days had passed since Carly saw Frankie in the dream or so she assumed. She wandered around the hospital loosely, waiting to go home. Carly could hear her daughter's screams become clearer as her consciousness came to the surface. Her heart yearned for her daughter. As she began to focus on the sounds in the room, a loud beeping noise replaced her daughter's voice.

"What's that dad?" Melanie asked Daniel.

"That means she's near a conscious state. Her vitals are showing improvement, but I'll need to look at the results of her newest brain scan to see the activity level," he said rushing out of the room.

"Mom can you hear me?" Melanie cried and Lawrence came behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Katerina, I know you can hear us. Please come back to us, we need you," Lawrence said drawing strength trying to be strong for Melanie. After that, Carly's heartbeat began to increase almost to a normal level.

"That's it Katerina, come back to us, I know you're getting stronger. Just open your eyes. I know it's hard but open you eyes for Melanie, for Nikki, for me," he said and reached for her hand. He felt her squeeze it and he looked over to Melanie in glee and they shared a knowing glance that she was waking up. Daniel came back into the room slightly out of breath.

"I have good news, it seems like you're mom is making a great recovery. Her CT scan shows lots of brain activity".

"When will she wake up?" Melanie asked with hope etched in her voice.

"Any time now, it could be anywhere from minutes to hours," he said. "Carly, just hurry up and come back, I really want to steal some of your dessert." With that, Daniel went to check on other patients, happy he save the mother of his child. An hour had passed of Carly squeezing Lawrence and Melanie's hands and them whispering words of encouragement for her to open her eyes. Her eyes started to flutter open slowly.

"Mom?" Melanie cried out breaking Lawrence from his trance of staring out the window.

"Katerina?" he said rushing towards the bed. "I'm glad you've returned to us". Carly is confused at first because she tries to talk, but the wires in her throat is causing difficulty.

"Law…" she tries to say.

"Shhh," Lawrence coos. "Don't speak just yet. You're at the hospital, you've been in a coma for a while," he says. "Melanie, go get your dad". Melanie stands and exits the room to find her dad. Minutes later, Daniel appears through the door with Melanie who's wearing a bright smile.

"Hey Carly, do you know who I am?" Daniel asks, but Carly shakes her head no. He begins taking out the tube and Carly starts coughing. Melanie retrieves a cup of water which helps the sandy burn in Carly's throat. "Do you know your name?"

"My name is Katerina," she replies.

"Do you know who Melanie is?" he asks.

"Yes, my daughter," Carly replies.

"Do you know what year this is?" he asks.

"2014," she replies.

"Do you know who that is?" Daniel asks pointing to Lawrence.

"Yes of course, he's my husband," she replies with a smile forcing Lawrence to wear a goofy grin.

"What's the last thing you remember?" he asks.

"I…I don't know, I think dinner with Melanie and Lawrence," she guesses, but isn't entirely sure and Daniel sighs.

"What's wrong dad?" Melanie asks Daniel which causes Carly to frown.

"Why are you calling him dad? Lawrence is your dad," Carly asks firmly.

"What are you talking about mom?" Melanie asks.

"Melanie, Lawrence I think it's best if you give me time with the patient, I'll be out shortly to discuss things with you guys," he says calmly, a little hurt that Carly didn't remember him or the fact that he was the father of their child. Melanie and Lawrence exit with confused looks on their faces.

"Well that's weird," Melanie said.

"Yeah," Lawrence said and sort of sad because he'd always wished Melanie was his. Back in the room, Daniel was checking over her vitals and reflexes which all appeared to be normal so he decided to exit the room before his emotions took over.

"What's wrong with her dad?" Melanie asked.

"Your mother is suffering from acute amnesia," he says writing it on his chart.

"But why can she remember a lot of things but not that you're my father and who you are?" she asked.

"I don't know, she'll have to see a therapist. Listen don't contradict what she thinks, just go along with it. Her head trauma is serious and any stress could have a negative impact. I have to go," Daniel says with hurt in his voice before taking off to make rounds.

"Shall we go in?" Lawrence asked and Melanie stepped before him entering her mother's room.

"Hey mom, how are you feeling?" Melanie asked.

"I'm feeling great now that I can see you two again," Carly said with unshed tears in her eyes.

"I couldn't hear what you guys were saying, but I recognized your voices when I was in the coma. It made me feel safe and loved knowing what I'd wake up to," she replied. "Lawrence, I was thinking, maybe we could all move back to Europe. I just want to be with my family. Where's Nikki?"

"He's taking exams. This is his second to last year of medical school," Lawrence lied.

"Oh? I didn't know he wanted to be a doctor. I thought he wanted to be more like his dad, a businessman," she smiled.

"Well it seems like both our children takes after their mother, they both love medicine," he shot back with glee and his heart swelled when he called Melanie his, who also had a look of shock on her face.

"Well they take after you as well, especially with your passion," she said and smiled.

"Mom, what do you remember from my teenage years?" Melanie asked trying to see the stories her mother fabricated in her head.

"Not easy I can tell you that," she laughed. "But after everything you put us through, I still don't regret a single moment. Lawrence remember that one time she got kicked out of boarding school and you tried homeschooling her?"

"Yeah that was such a disaster, who knew trigonometry even existed," he laughed going along with the story and surprisingly he was right.

"I knew you'd have a difficult time. Math was always your worst subject! I should've intervened when Melanie shot me a look of torture while still in her pajamas and bed hair all over the place," she said with so much happiness that all the occupants started believing the story.

"I knew Lawrence would never be good at math, no businessman is," Melanie laughed earning a look of horror from Carly.

"Don't call him Lawrence, that's your father, show him some respect!" Carly said firmly in a motherly tone Melanie hadn't heard, it was more of a scolding and her cheeks turned red from embarrassment as if it were the most natural thing. If it were any other situation, Melanie would've corrected Carly, but part of her didn't want to.

"Sorry," she said looking down and playing with her hands, a nervous habit Carly recognized when she was a teenager and whenever she was scolded. "I should've known dad was horrible at math when all my tests turned into A's for that class, because he was too lazy to correct them".


End file.
